


A Fire's Dying Light

by PanAcePanic



Series: Miraculous Ladybug Works [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien was akumatized, Chat Blanc - Freeform, Death, Descriptions of gore, Gore, Whump, basically everyone dies, just solid whump, lots of death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-29 21:56:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19028716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PanAcePanic/pseuds/PanAcePanic
Summary: The final battle against Chat Blanc.  He's been terrorizing Paris, killing it's people, and now the time has come to take him down.  Can the heroes do it?  Can the remaining heroes defeat their beloved friend in the streets they swore to protect?Based on this prompt from Tumblr:“Oh my,” the whumper chuckled as they walked up to the whumpee, sword through their stomach and so tired from the battle that they couldn’t even muster the strength to crawl away. “What happened to your beloved team, dear? The ones that would never leave you behind?”“Shu-” the whumpee hissed, “shut up.”“As determined to ignore what I taught you as always,” the whumper pressed a foot down onto the whumpee’s chest, earning a quiet scream. “I suppose we’ll have to work on that, now that we’re finally together again.”





	A Fire's Dying Light

**Author's Note:**

> There are some graphic descriptions of violence and blood in this so if thats not your thing don't read it. Also, the characters are aged slightly up, around 17 years old now for all of them. Read the tags for more information.

Marinette couldn’t breath, couldn’t see.  Everything around her swam with red, the very air seemed tinted with blood.  She could see Alya’s face, muscles slack and eyes open wide behind her orange mask, the angle of her head hiding the missing half of her skull, her brain carved out to match.  Nino lay only feet away from her, hand clutched at Alya’s and shield cracked beside him. Paris was burning, citizens were screaming, but the world seemed nearly silent as her own breath roared in her ears.

He had finally done it.  After all these years, after so many battles, Hawkmoth had finally won.  Adrien, his own son, had been taken under the control of an akuma and this was by far the worst of them all.  Chat Noir, in all his wonderful happiness, had been so full of anger and pain that when it was released he lost control.  Chat Blanc, the direct inverse of her beloved partner, was ruthless and fearsome. His once green eyes now burned to match the roaring fires in the city of lights.  His once playful tone was cold and brutal, claws which onced teased her now sliced through flesh like butter. As she lay on the hard ground, her friends dead by her side, she saw a flash of movement atop a building, two figures fighting.  Chloe, such a brat throughout her life, was fighting her childhood friend along the pyres of Paris, fighting Adrien who had been there for her throughout everything. The bee and the cat, playing a game of cat and mouse as red and yellow flames licked at their ankles.

The bee.  The protector of the group, the keeper of the hive.  When Chat Blanc made his appearance and called out Ladybug, Queen Bee took up the mantle and fought him down.  They protected each other, these two girls who had grown to be sworn enemies in school. The world watched on as they became friends, as Adrien disappeared and everyone slowly figured out what that meant, what it meant for the kindest boy in the world to turn into the nightmare that prowled the shadows.  When Chat Blanc began killing, began destroying without mercy, she took up a new mantle. Gone was Queen Bee, protector and cultivator of the hive, and emerged the Hornet, vindictive and vengeful. One of the first attacks by Chat Blanc had rid Paris of its mayor, of her father, and she would enact revenge or die trying.  And die she would.

The Hornet flitted around the cat, stinger lashing out at every opportunity but missing by a hair’s breadth.  The cat’s claws matched in ferocity, slashing so close to her body that they snagged the fabric of her suit. Chloe could feel herself waning, tiring after hours of endless fighting.  Her body was screaming in protest, her adrenaline coming to an end and fear filling its place. Still her eyes burned with anger, with hatred and sorrow for the boy she called friend, for the one she could always count on.  In the corner of her eye she saw the other heros, costumes a drastic contrast from the ruined city, lying broken on the ground and she fought harder. Fought for every life that Chat Blanc had taken, for every friend that would one day be remembered on a memorial plaque, for every person who had been taken from her and everyone else in this world.  Her movements became rapid, angry and swift, but this would be her undoing. 

Her stinger grazed the cat but didn’t break his skin.  Instead, he caught it in his clawed hand and pulled, yanking the Hornet to him and gripping her by her throat.  Picking her up like a rag doll, claws piercing her skin and drawing blood, he walked to the edge of the building and smiled at her.  “Chloe Bourgeois, the mayor’s daughter. You were such a good friend to me after my mom disappeared, weren’t you? I guess we had that in common, huh.  Mothers gone, fathers gone, it was inevitable that we would be friends. Of course, you turned out to be a stuck up bitch and I was always the pushover, never wanting to lose any friends by having opinions.  Well, Miss Bourgeois, it seems like we’ve both changed. The bitch of Paris is now a hero and the face of Paris, well you see what he’s become.” Chat Blanc laughed at this, lips splitting to reveal pointed teeth which echoed his feline persona.  

His claws tightened their hold, digging deeper into her neck as Chloe struggled to break free, kicking and clawing at him as much as she could.  It was useless, though, as her feet failed to find purchase and her fingers scrambled against his suit. He laughed at her attempts, a hunter playing with his prey, and held her out over the edge of the building.  “Goodbye, Chloe. And say hi to the mayor for me.” He let go, dropping her off the building and watching as she fell to the ground. Her body fell for what seemed like hours, wind whipping through her hair and cooling her sweat.  In her final moments it was almost peaceful, the sounds of the world seeming to bleed away and eyes taking in the city one last time. Her body hit the ground with a sickening crunch, her breathing halted instantly and eyes going glassy.  She felt no pain as she died, unable to as her back was broken in multiple places from the impact. As she faded, her eyes unfocussed, she swore she heard her father welcoming her and could almost feel his arms around her one more time.

Marinette groaned, sitting up with a hand clutched around her torn abdomen.  Blood slid through her fingers, slipped against her red and black suit and spattered on the black asphalt.  Her eyes, distressingly blue against her rapidly pailing skin, locked on the fallen figure as she fought to her feet.  Her parent’s bakery stood in ashes behind her, her parents away at her Grandmother’s, safe against all odds. Everything she once loved, every picture and project, every memory burned around her, pulsing with each desperate beating of her heart.  Her yoyo hung in her hand, the weapon which once brought hope to all scratched and damaged during this final battle. She had to fight, though, with every breath she has left. She had to fight against this bastardized version of her friend, of the one she loved, if only to protect the ones who needed her the most.  

“no… Ladybug…” Marinette froze, the croaked voice bringing her pause as she turned her head with a wince.  Nino, eyes open and barely breathing, starred desperately at her with blood running out of his mouth. “Don’t… fight-” he coughed, blood spattering against his teeth, “you can’t… he’ll kill you.” Marinette grimaced at his words, shaking her head as much as she could manage.

“I have to try, Nino.  You’ve known me all our lives, you know I can’t give up.” She laughed bitterly, blood foaming in the corner of her lips.  Nino’s eyes widened beneath his green mask, recognition filling them.

“Go… get him… Marinette.” these words would be his last, his hand falling limp against Alya’s and eyes sliding shut, breathing a last breath before going completely still.  Marinette fought the tears back as she took in the sight of her two best friends, dead in the streets they fought to protect. Standing up taller, hand pressed against the slashing wounds on her stomach, she walked toward the figure towering over Chloe’s fallen body.  She wasn’t moving, wasn’t breathing, and Marinette knew that she was dead. Her heart panged for the girl, the one who had redeemed herself against all odds and became a close friend to Marinette in the end. Gripping her yoyo, knowing that it was now or never, Marinette threw the toy as hard as she could into the air with a forced “Lucky Charm!” and watched as it changed form into a red and black sword.

This gave Marinette pause.  Only once before had the charm given her an actual weapon and she hadn’t ended up using it.  Perhaps this would be the same, needing it for something completely unexpected, but her lucky sight proved otherwise.  The only thing drawn to her as she gripped the sword was Chat Blanc, glowing slightly to indicate the target. One hand on her stomach, the other lifting the single-handed sword, she walked to the figure ahead of her.

“Ladybug.  I thought you were dead.” He turned around, a rotten smirk on his face as he took in the damaged hero before him.  His eyes lingered with mild surprise on the sword clutched in her hand but he laughed it off. “Do you even know how to use that?”

“You should know by now, Chat Blanc.  It takes a lot to get rid of me.” She snapped, straightening and holding the sword toward him.  With each step she took her body felt more numb. She knew, in the back of her mind, that this would be her last day in Paris, her last day on earth.  This was her last stand, she had to make it count. “Please, see reason Chat Blanc. Hawkmoth has already gotten one of our miraculouses. You know we can’t let him get the other.  The world won’t survive whatever he’s planning-” He cut her off with a snarl, swinging his claws out to her.

“You have  _ no _ _idea_ what Hawkmoth is planning.  All of  _ this _ ,” he growled, gesturing to the burning city around them, “could have been avoided.  How many people have you killed, Ladybug? How many innocent people died because you were too  _ selfish _ to give up a pair of earrings?” His voice bit into her worse than any claw could have but she held her ground, glaring at him through her mask.

“None. You, Chat Blanc, you killed them.  Hawkmoth killed them. No one person can wield the powers of creation and destruction, you know that.  This,” she mirrored his gesture to the city, “this is what happens when people try. Innocent lives are taken, innocent people suffer without cause.  This is Hawkmoth’s doing and his alone. I will not give up my earrings, not while I’m still alive.” She gripped her sword tight, her earrings flashing four dots as she did so.

“Better hurry, little bug.  Time’s running out.” He jeered at her, claws flashing bright in the fire’s light as he lunged.  She moved on instinct, her small sword slashing towards the cat but meeting thin air instead. The screams and moans of the city, the crackling sounds of wood burning around them, the stones and metal falling and breaking the ground as buildings collapsed in on their inhabitants, it all seemed to fade to a static noise.  All Marinette could hear was her own breathing, her own grunts of effort, the sounds of her blade hitting his claws and bouncing off. These partners of so many years, this pair of teenagers who had grown together and learned to fight together, were evenly matched. They fought against each other as they had fought together, anticipating the other’s moves and breathing into their next one like it was nothing.  This is what they were born to do, what destiny had fated for them. Fighting in the streets of Paris, by each other’s sides or at each other’s throats it didn’t matter, they were destined to fight together until their dying breath.

“Come on, little bug, give up.  You’re running out of time anyways.” He grunted, swiping again at her and slicing through her arm holding her sword.  Her earrings beeped, two dots now present against the red. Marinette cried out, nearly dropping the sword as her arm flared in white-hot pain.  Stumbling slightly, she gripped the sword in her opposite hand, the weight unfamiliar and awkward in her grip. She swung at the cat again, her movement going wide and vision blurring as she stumbled again, gasping in an effort to stay upright.  Her body was littered with cuts and gashes, blood streaming down every appendage and marking the ground. It was only the power of the miraculous keeping her going, keeping her eyes open and her body moving while she fought desperately against the one she once called friend.

“Chat Noir please,  _ please, _ ” she gasped out, dropping the sword and staggering forward, arm clutched to her stomach and doubled over, tears falling down her face as she looked up into the face of her old friend.  Glaring down at her, eyes gleaming a strange hue of purple and red, he lashed out and gripped her throat, lifting her up until her toes left the asphalt and blood dripped in their place.

“Chat Noir is  _ gone _ ” he snarled, digging his claws into her throat, piercing suit and flesh all the same.  “He was weak, he was spineless. He. Is. Gone. And so are you.” Marinette gasped out a bloodied breath, her shining eyes flashing wide as the black and red sword was buried deep in her stomach, piercing her through and exploding out her back.  The claws in her neck released and she crumpled to the ground, falling hard to her knees and nearly unable to stay upright. Her hands gripped the sword, limply trying to pull it out but she didn’t have the strength to move it, she barely had the strength to take each agonizing breath.  A deep ringing filled her ears, her vision blurring to a menagerie of colors but indistinct shapes. Chat Blanc crouched beside her, hands knocking her own away from the handle of the sword.

“Oh my,” he chuckled, pulling her head back by her hair and forcing her to look at him.  “Looks to me like the bug’s been pinned.” He laughed a bitter, distorted laugh at his own pun, painfully reminding her of her friend.  “What happened to your beloved team, my Lady? The ones you swore would never leave you behind?” She could see every one of her fallen friends as he spoke, their broken bodies littering the ground behind Chat Blanc.

“Shu- shut up.” she growled, blood dripping from her mouth as she did so.  Her earings flashed one dot, her time was almost up.

“You always were so determined to bring in more people.  Alya, Nino, Chloe, they didn’t have to die, you know. You did this to them.  You made them into these heros, you killed them.” He jeered, pushing on the sword and burying it further into her, making Marinette cry out in pain.  “I tried to tell you, my Lady, we were always best together. I suppose you get the idea now, though,” He laughed, glancing back at the bodies behind him, “since we’re finally together again.” Marinette was fading fast, Chat Blanc’s voice seeming miles away and the world fading from her own view, tunneling in on the sight of Alya and Nino together.  She couldn’t speak anymore, couldn’t breath much, and as Chat Blanc released the sword handle she fell over, body limp on the ground and eyes closing slowly.

“Now then, my Lady, you have something of mine.  Let’s see who you are behind that mask, huh? Once and for all.” She could feel him remove her earrings, yanking them off of her and nearly tearing her lobes in the process.  As she faded fully, body going cold and eyes sliding shut fully, she felt her suit disappear from her body and heard a gasp above her partnered with a voice of astonished disbelief.  “Marinette?”


End file.
